SPONGEtropolis
by Seismic Saffya
Summary: This is a spoof of anime flick 'Metropolis'. It follows the story of an artificial sponge girl who was created by Plankton to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula, but came out a bit too early...
1. Default Chapter

"For so long I've been trying ever so hard to get my microscopic hands on the Krabby Patty secret formula. Persistence didn't work. Disguises didn't work. Nothing worked. Until now, thanks to you, my little princess. You are to hunt down that naive cube of Krabs', love him, seduce him etc, etc, until he becomes so consumed with you he won't care about anything else in the world. Then is the time to break into the Krusty Krab in secret and take the recipe before you get discovered.   
  
You have everything that makes you the perfect match for a martially single fry cook. Now go out there and make me proud. The fall of the Krusty Krab and the rise of the Chum Bucket depends on you."   
  
SPONGE-tropolis  
  
A SpongeBob SquarePants Fan Fiction  
  
By Stacey W.   
  
---------------------------  
  
After such a tedious day at the Krusty Krab (for Squidward Tentacles anyway), Mr Krabs finally switched the door sign from 'Open' to 'Closed', bringing a thankful smile of Squid's face. It was Saturday night, meaning that the octopus could go to Downtown Bikini Bottom and have a great night out away from the two neighbours he hated the most - SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. And God knew what SpongeBob got up to on a Saturday night. Usually Squidward would try to play on his clarinet (although he was more or less of an amateur), having to endure all kinds of noises coming from SpongeBob's pineapple house.  
  
But not this night. This night was very special. It was Squidward's only night of fancy living. Going to the fanciest restaurant in all of the Pacific Ocean, gambling in a fine casino deep in downtown Bikini Bottom, so many possibilities awaited Tentacles. His only hope was that SpongeBob and Patrick wouldn't do something so puerile that it would horrifically spoil Squid's evening.  
  
He dressed himself in his best black tuxedo, tied on his best black bow tie round his twig thin neck, before finally placing his shining top hat on top of his huge, age-spot ridden, hairless head. Noticing his clarinet placed alone on a bamboo-like material chair, he picked it up and set it down on his double bed, tucking it in and giving it a goodnight kiss. "Sweet dreams my little Clarie," he whispered, before tiptoeing out of the bedroom and switching the light off.   
  
Ready and looking forward to this fancy night out, Squidward emerged into the tranquille Conch Street. He glared at both the houses of SpongeBob and Patrick, even though their occupiers were both asleep - it was way past ten o'clock at night. The octopus trotted over to his boat, rattling the keys excitedly. Thinking that he shifted the boat into drive in advance, Squidward inserted and turned the keys that started the boat. However, it was left in reverse.   
  
In great excitement, he started driving, not realising that he was going in the direction of the Krusty Krab. Squid looked into the mirror - it was then he realised his big mistake. The boat rocketed past his workplace. "Ah! I'm gonna crash!" the octopus screamed in panic - he tried to shift it back to drive, but due to his panic he snapped the lever. Feeling doomed, he unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the boat.   
  
THUD! The boat had crashed into the Chum Bucket. In a matter of seconds, it exploded into a ball of fire. Squidward's jaw felt like a ton of steel as he froze with shock. "My boat..." he exclaimed, collapsing into the floor in tears, "My boat...gone..."  
  
The fire spread rapidly into the interior of the Chum Bucket before the restaurant burst into flames.   
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, back in Conch Street, SpongeBob SquarePants was asleep in his bedroom. Unusually, he was sleeping barefoot, as opposed to wearing both his socks and shoes. He smiled, as pleasant images appeared in his head - a Krabby Patty with the stingers of a jellyfish, buzzing around, waiting to be captured by SpongeBob. He crouched soundlessly in a thicket of kelp, his net at the ready, slightly adjusting his protective glasses. The patty buzzed closer, carefree, just minding its own business. Tense, SpongeBob slightly raised himself. Ready to catch. 3...2...1...he leaped -   
  
DI-LI-LING! The shellphone suddenly rang. SpongeBob missed the catch. He fell head first on the ground before finally waking up in the real world. "Oh, who'd phone me at this time of night?" SpongeBob murmured grumpily.  
  
Feeling sleep deprived, SpongeBob hopped out of bed, crawling under it to fetch his green night robe, and stumbled over downstairs to the shellphone. "Hello?" he said after picking it up.   
  
"SpongeBob, it that you?" a familiar voice cried in a rush.  
  
"Speaking...Mr Krabs? What are you doing up?"  
  
"No time for explanations boy, the Chum Bucket's on fire!"  
  
"What?" SpongeBob screamed in astonishment.  
  
"Get dressed me lad, and meet me at the Krusty Krab! Come quickly!" Mr Krabs finally hung up.   
  
That piece of breaking news really woke SpongeBob up. He rushed into the closet, where he kept at least six of the same shirt and pairs of pants and black shiny shoes. With no time to choose carefully, he just selected a suit at random and quickly got changed. He didn't have no time to even say goodbye to his pet snail Gary.   
  
Once out of his pineapple house, SpongeBob hurried over to the Krusty Krab as speedily as he humanly could. He could picture in his mind how devastating the inferno's impact would be on the Chum Bucket - a fiery tongue destroying everything it licked, preventing those trapped inside from escaping. SpongeBob stopped for a bit, shook off this terrible feeling, and resumed the journey.   
  
Finally, the Krusty Krab was only a few strides away. In the near distance was Eugene Krabs, waving frantically as the approaching SpongeBob caught his eye. " Ahoy there lad!" he called as SpongeBob finally ended his run, "I hear this fire down at the Chum Bucket is the worst I've seen in Bikini Bottom. C'mon boy, let's check it out!"   
  
SpongeBob didn't like the sound of this. He feared the worst...what if he got trapped in the Chum Bucket during rescue, and never came out alive? As he and Mr Krabs darted over to the burning eating establishment, SpongeBob faintly trembled with fear. But whatever tasks he had to do, he wouldn't refuse, no matter how frightening the inferno was.   
  
When the pair finally arrived at the crowded surroundings of the Chum Bucket, Mr Krabs in particular dropped his jaw. "The reports are right lad!" he cried, gazing at the hellish orange glow of the fire, "This is the worst fire in all of Bikini Bottom!"   
  
Dozens of fire fighters strived to pacify the raging flames, as the crowds watched in awe, as if they've never recalled of the word 'fire'. Almost frozen with panic, SpongeBob could see the flames coming to life...whenever exposed to the water, they seemed to become more fierce. "SpongeBob," Mr Krabs suddenly said, placing his meaty claws on Sponge's shoulders. That only made him scream, the only way that released his panic.  
  
"Oh c'mon boy, don't be such a wimp!" Krabs commented, trying to calm his best employee down.  
  
"Sorry Mr Krabs, it's just that...that..." SpongeBob replied chattering his teeth, "I'm too scared!"  
  
"Pull yourself together lad, I've got a little...challenge for you."  
  
"A...challenge?"  
  
"Yes son. You see, there are lots of fire fighters guarding the place that won't let you in from the front. I want you to see if you can get in from the back and be on the lookout for Plankton. That's all. C'mon, I help you get in."  
  
Frightened SpongeBob was tempted to refuse. But then he thought to himself...if he didn't, Plankton would die...he shook his head. He wouldn't let that happen to anyone...no matter how cruel and wicked they were. SpongeBob perked his head up high and told his boss, "Mr Krabs, I'm going in!"   
  
"That's the spirit!" the crustacean replied with a smile, "Now go!"  
  
Disguising his fear, SpongeBob marched behind the burning Chum Bucket in the search for a back entrance. Thick black smoke had totally masked whatever was present there, making it difficult for SpongeBob to see. He coughed as he tried not to inhale the chemically enriched smoke. Suddenly, something had caught his eye...  
  
Light! The back door must have been open...or was it? Hesitant, SpongeBob drew himself closer. Something was there...whatever it was, it wasn't orange - it cast a eerie glow of...aluminous green. Could it have been Karen, Plankton's computer wife, slowly short-circuiting? No, this thing was smaller than that. It was square-shaped, just like the trembling sponge. "I hope I'm not seeing things..." he muttered to himself.  
  
Just then, the aluminous object began to move. It seemed to be stirring, trying to stand, but had a poor sense of balance. Unaware that it was being watched, it walked about a little, wobbling, hoping not to fall. SpongeBob coughed once again. The glowing creature had heard the noise. It turned itself around. To the fry cook's astonishment, this creature was a sponge...just like him. But then, why would it glow so radiantly? Could it have been exposed to radioactive waste?   
  
The glowing sponge stumbled closer...it was female. On the other hand, SpongeBob's panic had reached maximum. He was so frightened he couldn't run...run into the Chum Bucket for safety, away from this radiant freak. All he could do was step backward, until he touched the piping hot metal exterior of the Chum Bucket. SpongeBob gave out a loud cry of pain - he had burned his hands.  
  
However, the girl didn't respond to SpongeBob's reactions. She just imitated the coughing sound and remained still. That wasn't very reassuring for SpongeBob. The fumes from the fire were causing him to hallucinate...he could imagine the girl touching him, even though in real life she seemed harmless.   
  
Finally, SpongeBob screamed at the top of his voice. "I CAN'T TAKE IT!" he yelled in panic. Unaware that the girl was actually here now, standing face to face, he grabbed hold of her hand and fled from the scene at top speed, taking her with him, and leaving the Chum Bucket to burn right down to the ground. 


	2. Chapter 2

i"Breaking News! It seems that local resident SpongeBob SquarePants has gone missing! He was last seen at the scene of the inferno incident at the Chum Bucket last night, possibly with Krusty Krab owner Eugene Krabs, 61, who was the hero of the night after taking several risks to save the owner of the Chum Bucket Sheldon Plankton from the blaze.  
  
The Krusty Krab fry cook, who is in his late teens, could be anywhere in or outside of Bikini Bottom, though there are possibilities that he may be dead. Search parties have already been made going as far as Jellyfish Fields, but all that was found of him was this little white hat with a blue anchor on it.  
  
SpongeBob is described by local residents as having bulbous blue eyes, a long thin nose, three freckles on either side of his cheeks, two buck teeth with a gap between, and wears a square shaped white shirt and brown pants with a black belt. We'll keep you updated on the whereabouts of this innocent young bathroom utensil, I mean, fry cook. In other news..."/i  
  
Tears flooded Mr Krabs' towering green eyes as the TV screen persistently displayed pictures of SpongeBob all happy and innocent. Even though the porous employee had annoyed his greedy boss at times, old man Krabs felt sympathetic and guilty about this possible loss. "Whaaaaaa!" the aging crustacean finally sobbed with guilt "SpongeBob! I should never have called you up, and made you go inside! It's all my fault! MY FAULT!"  
  
"Forget your stupid cube, what about me?" an angry voice called from a distance.  
  
Mr Krabs froze for a bit, wondering where it came from. "Down here, stupid!" it added. Casting his eyes to the ground, Krabs still couldn't see. He soon heard the sound of a wheel rolling...a wheelchair...it was Plankton.  
  
The tiny single-celled creature was in bad shape - wheelchair bound, his body half covered with dressings to cover up the burns he had, having to breathe pure oxygen from a little pump because he inhaled a lot of smoke...  
  
"Look at me..." Plankton whispered, "I'm a wreck...I have nothing left...you should have left me in there Krabs...you should have..."  
  
For once, Mr Krabs felt sympathetic for his business rival. "Cheer up Plankton!" he said with an eerie smile, "I'm sure I could cover the Chum Bucket for you..."  
  
"That's not true!" Plankton retorted pointing a bandaged finger, "You're so cheap! You'd never pay to help someone get back on their feet!" He panted, feeling a bit dizzy - maybe he shouldn't have raised his voice too much.  
  
"Someone's being a little cranky methinks?"  
  
"You don't know what it's like to lose everything that you love...my computer wife Karen...my home...my little...angel..." Millions of thoughts and memories flooded Plankton's brain, bringing on the tears. "I no longer wish to talk". In an act of defeat, he finally made an 180 degree turn and wheeled himself out of the room.  
  
"Suit yourself," Mr Krabs made a final comment.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, deep in the dark shadowy caves in Jellyfish Fields, SpongeBob and the mysterious girl sponge had spent the night together after tiring themselves out running. SpongeBob roused first, wondering where he was. Usually he would be woken up every morning by his booming alarm clock, but he knew that this wasn't home. He gasped - the girl, was she still there? he thought. He turned around. Yes, she was! What a relief.  
  
The girl, who was still sleeping, somehow had stopped glowing, showing her true features. She happened to look a lot like SpongeBob, but slightly smaller in size, lighter in colour, and without buck teeth and red freckles. Her spongy body had fewer holes, positioned in different places. She had a shorter nose, as were her arms and legs. On top of it all, she had a full head of streaming, striking violet hair at full body length. Eventually she began to stir too, and opened her eyes - a beautiful kelp green in colour. However, she was naked.  
  
This girl's facial being had left SpongeBob stunned. But then he asked himself - why was she glowing last night? Why did it stop? All he could do politely was wait until she fully woke up, and then speak. This took several minutes, but Sponge remained patient. "Uh...hi." he began once the girl roused, feeling a little nervous, "I'm SpongeBob, and uh...you are?"  
  
The girl seemed to be much more hesitant that SpongeBob was. "Uh...hi iym spon ob yoowar..." she replied - or for that matter, repeated reluctantly Sponge's last few words.  
  
Somehow, SpongeBob suddenly felt a slight sense of suspicion...her words...why were they so slurred...could she possibly have been drunk? If so, where did she come from? What was she doing round the Chum Bucket? Tons more question flooded SpongeBob's mind. But no matter how mysterious she seemed, somehow he really liked her. Where have you been all my life? he thought.  
  
"No, no," Sponge corrected the girl, "When you talk about yourself, you say 'I', and when I talk about you, I say you...uh, it's kinda complicated for me myself, dahahaha," he laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed.  
  
Suddenly, the girl's belly began to rumble - hungry...she looked around for something worth a bite. In a matter of seconds, she caught her eyes on a few strands of kelp, which were swaying gently with the sea current. Her temptations to eat were close to maximum. While SpongeBob continued to ramble on about nothing, she mindlessly crawled over to the kelp, grabbed hold of a strip, and yanked it out, ready to put it in her mouth.  
  
The sound of the yank disrupted SpongeBob's talk. "No, don't eat those!" he shouted, trying to stop his new friend from munching on any more, "Kelp doesn't taste good, trust me!"  
  
Too late, the girl had already eaten the first strip - and seemed to enjoy it. "Kelp...dusent taste good!" she commented with a content smile, carrying on eating her tasty kelp.  
  
Soon, a strange noise sounded in the distance, a buzzing noise...jellyfish. "Jellyfish!" SpongeBob called, "Ah tartar sauce! If only I had my jellyfishing net!" He turned his head around, only to find that the girl had gone. "Aaaah! New friend! Where did you go?" In a panic, Sponge searched everywhere in the cave - under every rock he could lift, into every kelp bush present...but to no avail...she must have ran off without him.  
  
No sooner had SpongeBob took his first step out of the cave, he heard someone scream among the same annoying buzzing sound he heard earlier - the girl! "Kelp girl!" he cried, "Where are you?"  
  
In great worry, the little sponge kept running and stopping, trying to track down his new friend. But then, he saw a figure dash past...it must be the girl! He went straight after it. Yes, it was her, being chased by a raging swarm of jellyfish. As the translucent creatures stung her continuously, she yelped and cried in pain, while evading the swarm.  
  
No matter how exhausting running could be for SpongeBob, he had to save the girl. But how? The only way he could do it was by having to catch up with her. Trying hard not to stop running for breath, he pushed himself a little harder...and was getting really close to the jellyfish.  
  
One jellyfish had noticed that his family had company behind them. In a matter of seconds, the whole swarm ignored the girl, turned around and headed for SpongeBob, who kept running. Ignoring the pain of several stings, he was finally at his friend's side. Thinking that he was a jellyfish, the girl started running again, leaving SpongeBob to have to chase her. "Grab my hand!" he called, holding out his arm towards her.  
  
Luckily, the girl had changed her mind, faced the boy sponge and copied his last move. SpongeBob grabbed her arm and both headed over to an enormous rock to hide themselves from the jellyfish, which had now surrendered and whizzed past the rock.  
  
Both of the poor sponges were exhausted, their skin sore from all those jellyfish stings. The girl was shivering with fear, and felt like crying. Unlike SpongeBob, who had already suffered from a full body of stings a few times in the past, this was her first time. SpongeBob hugged his female friend in an effort to comfort her, even though it hurt the both of them. "My house isn't far," he whispered, stroking the unaffected parts of the girl's back, "We can recover once we get home..."  
  
Due to the pain, the girl didn't really pick up much of what SpongeBob just said, but she responded to the word 'home'. They both struggled to stand up. When on their feet, they waddled on home, trying to ignore the soreness of their lesions.  
  
Walking normally hurt them so much that by lunchtime, the sponges had arrived in Bikini Bottom. Conch Street was only a few minutes' walk from the city limits, but know their pain, it took longer to get to the pineapple house. The girl felt surprised as the pineapple appeared in her sight.  
  
Finally, they reached the door to SpongeBob's house. But just as her was going to turn the vault knob, he heard a low familiar voice call his name.  
  
------------------------------ 


	3. Chapter 3

"SPONGEBOB!!!" this voice cried from a short distance. Faster than SpongeBob could turn his head, something knocked him down to the ground. Something flabby and pink. Thinking it was another jellyfish, the sponge girl flinched with fear. "There's nothing to be afraid of," SpongeBob said in a muffled voice as his face was being smothered by a rough pink arm he tried to lift off, "It's Patrick!"

Yes, it was indeed the ecstatic starfish called Patrick, and by his actions, he had never felt so happy in his entire life. "You're not dead!" he cried once again, squeezing his spongy friend so tight SpongeBob couldn't struggle free, "You were all over the news and papers, there's even pictures of you around Bikini Bottom!"

"There are?" SpongeBob questioned once he wriggled his head free.

"Sure SpongeBob, everyone thought you died."

There was a short pause. "Dahahaha!" Sponge chortled, "Good one Patrick!"

Pulling a sneaky face, Patrick held up one of the 'MISSING PERSON' posters, which had a poorly drawn cartoon of SpongeBob printed on it. "Gimme that!" SpongeBob retorted, snatching the paper from the starfish's fingerless hand. Seconds later, his smiling face collapsed, and his eyes widened as he handed the paper back to Patrick. "Whoa..." he spoke quietly, "I never thought the whole town liked me so much! Patrick? Pat?"

SpongeBob waved his bone thin arm up and down in front of Patrick, who seemed to have noticed something awe-inspiring. "Who's the hot lady over there?" Pat ginned, aiming his hand straight ahead.

SpongeBob turned around. There stood the sponge girl, hanging her head down, arms on her back, probably looking bored. He soon realised that she was still in the nude! Quickly he held the piece of paper over her offending parts, grinning, looking back at Patrick.

"Oh, uh, she's...a new friend of mine!" he answered, feeling a little nervous. He could cast his mind back to last night, when he first met the girl among the raging flames of the Chum Bucket inferno. Somehow he had to tell a lie. "I met her in Jellyfish Fields. And, uh...she was in trouble. I think she lost her memory somehow, but I think after a while it'll all slowly come back to her, you know what I mean?" He nudged his chubby starfish friend.

Patrick somehow wasn't listening, as usual. The girl on the other hand was just standing there, waiting to have SpongeBob's attention. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't pay any attention to you," he said to her, "It's just that...well...anyway, I'll show you my house. See ya later Patrick!"

"Bye SpongeBob!" Patrick replied before waddling back to his rock home, like none of this ever happened.

"Phew! Glad he's gone!" SpongeBob commented, "We gotta get you something to wear." Of course, the girl was in the nude still, she couldn't walk the streets of Bikini Bottom without any clothes on! Into the pineapple the spongy couple went. The girl's eyes widened as she was introduced to the neat, sparkling, atmospheric interior of SpongeBob's house.

Suddenly she freaked out - something wet had slithered over her feet, and it mewed in joy - a blue sea snail with a pink shell dotted with purple spots and a red swirly line; and blubbering pale green eyes. "Gary!" SpongeBob called, picking up and caressing his beloved pet snail. He would have thought Gary would be angry with him for not feeding him in the morning, but the snail was so glad to see his master again.

The girl on the other hand had crouched down in terror. Worried about what's wrong with her now, SpongeBob set Gary down and came over to her side to comfort her. "It's OK, Gary won't bite, really," he said, snatching Gary from the ground and holding him up in her face, "Why don't you pet him?"

For an even strange reason, the girl's fear grew even worse, so bad in fact that she could hear the buzzing of jellyfish...was it Gary's googly eyes that were creeping her out, his under belly perhaps, or possibly the fact that his shell was pink? Pink! Jellyfish are round and pink, and she could recall the moment she got attacked by jellyfish...she must have been afraid of pink round things! All she could do was curl up even more.

"I just don't get it!" SpongeBob commented, scratching his head, "What could you possibly be afraid of?" He put his little mollusc pet down once again, and turned on the TV. "Well, I have to feed Gary now. I won't be a minute! How about some TV to cheer you up?" Finally, he trotted to the kitchen, whistling, being followed by Gary.

Now that Gary was gone for the moment, the girl rose from her foetal position and gazed at the brightness of the television screen. There was the image of Realistic Fish Head blabbering on about minor news headlines.

_"We interrupt your fear to bring you a breaking announcement! In the last few minutes, the missing sponge boy who we mentioned the last time we broadcasted has returned home safe and sound, along with another sponge who could well be the very glowing creature who was discovered at the Chum Bucket incident last night..."_

As Realistic Fish Head continued to chatter about the Chum Bucket, the news broadcast displayed several pictures of the place before, during and after the fire. It was there the girl became bewildered, so awed in fact that she crawled over to the TV set and seemingly hugged it. "Home..." she muttered, as she rubbed her hands all over the screen. She continued to do so for as long as it took Gary to eat his SnailPo breakfast and lunch, in which SpongeBob had stood next to him for supervision.

Just as the girl attached her eyes to the glowing screen, SpongeBob emerged into the living room and widened his eyes. "What are you doing?" he shouted at her, feeling confused and a little angry, "Stop that! You'll get fingerprints all over the screen!"

But the girl didn't respond - she must have been trapped in fascination. In seconds, Gary slithered in and stopped next to his master. "I don't get it Gary, why is does she like the TV so much?" Sponge asked the little blue mollusc with a worried face.

Gary on the other hand frowned and meowed cynically. SpongeBob gasped, "No, that's not true Gary, she's not a fake! She might act weird, yes, but I know for sure she's a real sponge!"

Pulling a smug face, Gary mewed again. "OK, I'll turn it off and see what happens." SpongeBob retorted.

But just as Sponge finished his last word, the girl laid her hands on the volume knob, and accidentally shifted it to the right - turning the sound up so loud the whole street could hear! Soon, the pineapple house was vibrating violently, as was Squidward's Tiki and Patrick's rock! In a panic, SpongeBob quickly turned the volume dial right down and the TV set off. "Phew..." he whispered with relief.

Shortly, a fierce banging on the door could be heard, as well as the raging voice of Squidward. "Aaahh!" SpongeBob screamed, rapidly removing his clothes, "You're still nudie! Quick, take my pants!" Pretty soon the girl was fully dressed, while the boy sponge remained in his underwear.

He speedily took place beside the girl and guided her to his bedroom and sat on the bed. "Now, whatever you do, don't make a sound," he whispered to her, "And let me do that talking." Feeling nervous, he hurried to his closet, slipped on a spare pair of square pants and walked over to the front door, opening it slowly.

Before them was fuming Squidward, prepared to rant against his neighbour. "SpongeBob, what do you think you're doing making that much noise you barnacle head?" he began furiously, "It felt like the middle of an earthquake in there!"

"Oh I'm sorry Squidward," SpongeBob replied in a seemingly confident manner, "Gary and I were playing fetch and the stick hit the TV and he crawled over the volume knob and...uh." He was rapidly losing his cool, "It won't happen again, honest." SpongeBob pulled a false grin, appearing all innocent.

"For your sake I hope you're right!" Squidward snapped back, poking on SpongeBob's nose mockingly.

Suddenly Squid's ramblings were silenced by a loud thud sound. "Uh, what was that?" he asked with wide eyes.

Oh no, SpongeBob thought, she's done something wrong again. "Excuse me for a second I have something to take care of upstairs," SpongeBob spoke quietly and quickly, before closing the door and rushing upstairs to see what was going on up there.

Grumpy old Squidward felt amused by SpongeBob's worry and felt giggly on the inside. Shortly the giggles grew stronger, and eventually he fell into a fit of laughter for no reason, causing his nose to deflate and inflate. As the laughter was dying, Squid was able to open his flooded eyes, only to see what he thought was SpongeBob in drag - the sponge girl was looking out through the window, watching the flowers in the sky drift by. He switched from laughter to disbelief, and scampered back to his Tiki house with a scream.

Meanwhile in the pineapple house, SpongeBob was chattering away while he was smoothing his bedsheet - the girl had been jumping from the diving board onto the out of boredom. Somehow he couldn't take his eyes off of her as she remained gazing out of the window. "You know," SpongeBob said, "I don't know what it is but...I sorta like you."

The girl turned around to face SpongeBob and look him in his bulbous sky blue eyes. Enticed by the squeaky but soft tone of his voice, she began to walk over to him - her sense of balance was greatly improving - and sat down on the bed beside him when she got there. Her face was gradually being attracted to SpongeBob's like a magnet, and like he couldn't look away from her, she couldn't look away from his eyes. "Wait till I tell Squidward about you!" SpongeBob suddenly spoke with great excitement.

He hurried over to the window to see if old Squid was still there waiting. But when he peered over and out, the octopus had already gone. "He must have gone to play his clarinet," he commented, turning back to the sponge girl, "Now where was I?"

Later that night, SpongeBob, Gary and his new female friend were preparing to go to bed. It was decided that the girl would sleep in the triple mattress bed of SpongeBob's, while he would sleep downstairs on the couch. After all the madness that occurred today and yesterday, the girl fell straight to sleep the minute she hit the hay. She squirmed about in delight - it was certainly more comfortable in here than in that freezing cold, damp cave in Jellyfish Fields!

Downstairs, SpongeBob was laying out a blanket on top of the couch, while Gary slithered over that sheet of newspaper. "Good night Gary," he said to his mollusc pet as he climbed under the blanket. Gary mewed back, making it the right time for Sponge to turn off the lamp.

After about a minute, Gary mewed again. "Yeah Gary?" SpongeBob murmured sleepily.

"Meow meow mew meorr." The little sea snail was being cynical again.

"Listen Gary," SpongeBob snapped back in protest, "I know for a fact that my new girl friend is a real sponge! She's had a rough time, that's why she acts funny. It'll all come back to her, I know it! Let's go to sleep now shall we Gary?" After that rather tense conversation, both SpongeBob and Gary resumed their sleep.


End file.
